Home networks (HN) distribute broadband services within a customer's premises between various units of customer equipment. HNs can include wireline nodes that communicate over a wire-line medium (e.g., coax cable, optical fiber, twisted copper pair) and wireless nodes that wirelessly communicate with an Access Point or another wireless node. Often, the access node is a central node of the HN and generally connected to other network nodes by fixed (usually wire-line) connections.
One of the main issues for HN solutions, whether wire-line or wireless, is security. Because HNs operate over shared media, in the absence of adequate security measures, any HN user's digital communications may become an easy target for an intruder. As digital content becomes more pervasive in our lives, there is a need for improved security measures to ensure this content is adequately protected.